News from the Editors -- MEDICA - World Forum for Medicine
Menu

MEDICA Newsletter

Don't miss any news:
Register for our newsletter and all news from MEDICA-tradefair.com will be delivered to you on a regular basis.
Subscribe to our newsletter here!

Social Media

Stay in touch:
We look forward to a lively dialogue with you – using all the benefits offered by social media.

More about…

Image: a scanning electron image; Copyright: Melosh Lab

Immunotherapy: novel technique for cancer treatment

15.10.2019

Immunotherapy is a promising cancer treatment that uses genetically modified immune cells to fight cancer. It can be used as a primary treatment or in combination with other treatments such as radiation and chemotherapy to slow down or stop the growth of cancer cells and prevent them from spreading to other parts of the body.
Read more
Image: close-up of a liver cancer stem-like cell; Copyright: Dr Toh Tan Boon, NUS N.1 Institute for Health

Cells: potential liver cancer treatment

10.10.2019

Liver cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. The most common primary liver cancer in adults is known as hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and accounts for approximately 780.000 deaths every year. Even with advanced surgical treatments or transplantation, the 5-year survival rate for HCC patients remains poor due to frequent recurrence.
Read more
Image: Illustrated DNA string; Copyright: Yen Strandqvist/Chalmers University of Technology

DNA: held together by hydrophobic forces

23.09.2019

Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, disprove the prevailing theory of how DNA binds itself. It is not, as is generally believed, hydrogen bonds which bind together the two sides of the DNA structure. Instead, water is the key. The discovery opens doors for new understanding in research in medicine and life sciences. The researchers' findings are presented in the journal PNAS.
Read more
Image: bacterial syringe structure on a black background; Copyright: Shikuma Lab

Bacteriology: structures can be tapped to deliver drugs

19.09.2019

Not all bacteria spread diseases, many are beneficial and this strain has nanoscale syringes that deliver proteins which cause metamorphosis in marine animals, and could be modified as a novel drug delivery tool for future vaccines and cancer care.
Read more
Image: Rodins The Thinker with yellow-brownish structures around it; Copyright:

Laboratory medicine: biomaterials smarten up with CRISPR

23.08.2019

The CRISPR-Cas system has become the go-to tool for researchers who study genes in an ever-growing list of organisms, and is being used to develop new gene therapies that potentially can correct a defect at a single nucleotide position of the vast reaches of the genome.
Read more
Image: Two ellbows affected by psoriasis; Copyright: panthermedia.net/Hriana

Shedding light on PUVA light therapy for skin diseases

22.08.2019

Together with their Munich-based colleagues, a team of physical chemists from Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU) has clarified which chemical reactions take place during PUVA therapy. The therapy involves light-induced damage to the DNA of diseased cells. The team working under Prof. Peter Gilch has now published its findings in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
Read more
Image: A lab technician is using a pipette to fill a solution into a petri dish; Copyright: panthermedia.net/Arne Trautmann

Last-resort antibiotics: "We can identify carbapenemases within half an hour"

01.08.2019

Antibiotic resistance is modern medicine's greatest challenge. Some bacteria only respond to a handful of antibiotics, prompting hospitals to spend a lot of time finding an effective drug. That’s why it is critical for physicians to rapidly identify antibiotic resistance to avoid ineffective treatments.
Read more
Image: Preview picture to the video

Interview with Hombrechtikon Systems Engineering AG

15.11.2018

Whether DNA testing, tissue analysis or blood tests – the secrets of life are unraveled in the laboratory. In order to master this challenge, all processes must first be optimized and automated. Which role HSE AG plays here, the Swiss company explains at MEDICA 2018.
Read more
Image: A group of physicians is holding large colorful puzzle pieces in their hands and is putting them together; Copyright: panthermedia.net/Andriy Popov

Personalized medicine: a paradigm shift is gaining momentum

01.03.2018

Personalized medicine does not follow a "one-size-fits-all" treatment approach but emphasizes a "tailor-made" paradigm, meaning a treatment is customized to each individual person's case. For patients, this increases the chances of treatment success and means fewer side effects. While the approach originates in the field of oncology, it is now also increasingly applied to other disease patterns.
Read more
Image: Three men in suits and a woman in a laboratory coat are standing in a laboratory; Copyright: Ministry of Economy of Mecklenburg-Hither Pomerania/Norbert Fellechner

On the trail of cancer: personalized cancer vaccine

01.03.2018

Conventional cancer treatment selection typically depends on the location of the tumor. However, this approach ignores the distinct gene mutations in the tumor of the individual patient. New cancer research approaches increasingly emphasize the concept of personalized therapy.
Read more
Image: yellow tape measure with capsules in front of it; Copyright: panthermedia.net/Jiri Hera

Personalized cancer medicine: customized treatment

01.03.2018

Everyone is different. This statement also applies to our health. Cancer, in particular, can look and progress differently depending on the individual person. That’s why every patient ideally also needs a customized treatment that is tailored to their individual needs. But how feasible is this idea?
Read more
Image: Collage made of two images, one show a round, transparent plastic disc with micro channels, one shows a plastic chip; Copyright: Hahn-Schickard, Image Bernd Müller

Prenatal diagnosis: genetic analysis using droplet PCR

24.07.2017

A new analysis method that uses fetal DNA extracted from the mother’s blood is designed to non-invasively reach a prenatal diagnosis of genetic disorders in a child. A task force of the Hahn Schickard Society for Applied Research is an active part of the "ANGELab" project and co-developed this diagnostic procedure.
Read more
Image: Children playing outside, getting wet in the water; Copyright: panthermedia.net/Wavebreakmedia ltd

Pneumonia in Children: Ultrasound or X-Rays?

08.03.2017

Pneumonia is the most frequent respiratory disease in children and can even cause death. That is why it is extremely important to make an accurate diagnosis as quickly as possible. If this requires imaging tests, normally X-rays are taken. But there is an alternative: ultrasound.
Read more
Image: Different medical pictograms; Copyright: panthermedia.net/aimage

Collect Data? Utilize Data! – The Blessings of Big Data

01.03.2017

Genome data, MRI images, and blood test results – data collected in the medical sector is not only very heterogeneous but also extremely extensive. However, it is important to not only collect this data but to also utilize it. After all, processed, linked and analyzed data provides many opportunities in research, hospital management and ultimately also for the individual patient.
Read more
Image: Image of a bird in greyscale and blurred; Copyright: Universitätsklinikum Tübingen

Gene therapy for the treatment of achromatopsia

01.02.2017

Achromatopsia is a rare hereditary visual disorder. Along with total color blindness, patients most notably suffer from reduced visual acuity and increased sensitivity to light and glare.
Read more